


Walkman's Lullaby

by JynxFire



Series: Things Never Go According to Plan [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Peter and Kraglin Family Bonding, Pre-Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Young Peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-20 16:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11338728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JynxFire/pseuds/JynxFire
Summary: It had been a long, tiring day and Kraglin is exhausted. Too bad Peter had a nightmare and has convinced himself that he's bothered Yondu enough times to be considered a nuisance.





	Walkman's Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> a.k.a. 'I've realized that I adore Kraglin being a loving big bro towards lil Peter and I need more of that on this site even if I have to write it myself'  
> Joking aside, there is going to be a reference to my past work 'Pawn Shop'. It's only a paragraph long callback though so it shouldn't interfere with the rest of this story.  
> So with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!

Today had been _anything_ but relaxing. The Eclector had been hailed by another ship that demanded they hand over their weapons. Naturally, the response was an amused laugh from the Ravager captain before firing on the smaller ship. No one was going to demand Yondu to do anything and he was more than happy to knock those idiots in the galaxy that thought otherwise off their high horses. Of course, things weren't going to end that simply. They never seemed to. 

The battle was split between the inside and outside of the Eclector as a good amount of the opposing crew managed to board the Ravager ship. They had brawn, but their brain was questionable as they would lunge at their opponents without thinking of consequences. Though the tactic took out a small few unlucky Ravagers, the usual result was them getting shot in the head or chest before they could do any harm. The ones that weren't throwing themselves and becoming target practice were firing at the pipes and vents. Others even tried getting to the engine room, though that ended in vain. 

Messing with Yondu Udonta was a death wish and he was about to prove this fact. With a clear shot and a swift order, the enemy ship was blown to pieces. Once that was out of the way, the captain sent his arrow to finish off whatever stowaways had managed to evade his crew. With the battle over, the Ravagers were left with the damage done to their ship.

On one hand, said damages weren't permanent. On the other, the ship was still a mess and the crew wasn't exactly in the mood to clean up. It had already been late in the cycle when they were attacked, making the Ravagers rather tired and cranky by the time the battle was finished- which wasn't exactly a great mix. So, it was decided they'd just repair the bare minimum, throw the enemy corpses out the airlock, and go to bed to deal with the rest later. That still left the captain and first mate to go around the ship to make sure there weren't any other threats that could have been missed.

Kraglin was wearily making his way down the hall. At this point, he wasn't really paying as much attention as he should to his surroundings. He was _supposed_ to be checking to make sure nothing major had been damaged even though he had a feeling everything was fine. The original thought had been 'better safe than sorry', but now he was just sorry that he was still awake since focusing on the task at hand was near impossible. He eventually found himself standing in the bridge of the ship. Noticing that his captain's control console was unusually bare, the first mate walked over and found that most of Yondu's trinkets had been knocked down. Honestly, Kraglin was surprised that Yondu had allowed his prized collection be on the floor for this long. He would have imagined that it would have been the first thing fixed. Then again, he was probably checking up on Peter. It had been the first time the Eclector had been invaded like that since the boy had been on board, so he was probably a little shaken by the experience.

Deciding to let the responsibility of rearranging the trinkets fall onto his shoulders, Kraglin started returning the items to where they belonged. He quietly thanked the stars that nothing had been broken. The next few days would _not_ have been fun if it were otherwise. The first mate recalled Peter once saying that a broken trinket was like a broken mirror; it caused seven years bad luck. Why the kid thought breaking a mirror would result in that, the Ravager didn't know. Must just be a Terran thing.

As Kraglin picked up the last remaining trinket, he realized he was all too familiar with it. It was a Terran keychain that he and Peter had gotten Yondu a few months back. Well, it was mostly Peter who had gotten it. Kraglin felt he just got some credit due to...what else had happened that day. Though he initially wore a smile when he picked up it up, the Ravager had mixed feelings about the item. Even though the adventure to get it had had plenty of pleasant moments, it still stood as a grim reminder to what else had occurred. Yondu himself seemed to use it as a reminder not to allow the two youngest of his crew visit some sketchy planet without supervision. Not until they were older, at least.

"Kraglin." The first mate jumped at the sudden voice and clumsily caught the keychain that had slipped from his hand. Once the object was back in his grasp, his attention went straight to who had called his name.

"Oh, hello Cap'n." Kraglin noticed that Yondu looked tired. He could definitely relate.

"Yer still awake? Get yourself to the sleeping quarters 'fore I _make_ you go there!" Yondu took a small step to the side to give his first mate enough room to pass him.

Even though he really wanted to take the offer, his half asleep brain seemed to be thinking of other things. "But Cap'n, the Eclector's still a mess an' I ain't seein anyone else do a thing about it. Could get dangerous with all the stuff that's lyin around." Not that a Ravager ship was ever technically clean. At the very least it had clear pathways, which was much unlike it's current state with broken weapons and who knows what else littering the halls. He didn't know if his eyes had been messing with him, but he swore he even saw a disembodied arm at one point during his patrol.

"Not seein how that's yer problem right now. 'sides, I don't need my first mate falling asleep on the job, now do I?" Kraglin let out a small chuckle and shook his head. After placing the keychain on the control console, he walked past his captain but steadily came to a stop before leaving the bridge.

Turning back to look at Yondu, he asked, "What 'bout you, Cap'n? You should get some sleep too." A grin crept onto Kraglin's face before he jokingly added, "Only thing worse than a first mate fallin asleep on the job is a  _captain_ fallin asleep on the job."

Yondu rolled his eyes to accompany his short laughter at those words. "Got a few more things to do. Shouldn't take long."

Satisfied with the answer, Kraglin gave a small nod to the captain before heading to the sleeping quarters. His journey was cut short, however. As he walked past the mess hall, he noticed someone sitting alone at one of the tables. He could hear muffled music playing as he approached.

"Pete? What're you still doin' up?" The Ravager sat down next to the boy and noticed his eyes were red from tears. Peter turned down the volume on his Walkman. It must have originally been set to maximum since Kraglin had been able to hear the music through the headphones around the kid's neck.

"Can't sleep." Peter was mumbling with his head directed downwards as if he were ashamed. "...Nightmare."

A sympathetic  _'Ah'_   escaped Kraglin's lips as he gently wrapped an arm around the nine year old in an attempt to comfort him. Peter leaned in and snuggled into his side as a response. It made sense for him to be experiencing nightmares. The poor kid has seen things someone his age should never have to witness. Unfortunately, that was just part of Ravager life. Though it didn't help that the boy seemed to have the sleeping problem since day one on the Eclector.

"Did ya tell Cap'n about it?" The first mate was speaking with a soft voice. This hadn't been Kraglin's first time comforting Peter about night terrors, but Yondu would always show up sooner or later to take over.

Slowly shaking his head and rubbing his eye, Peter responded with an almost inaudible, "I can't." He looked up at the Ravager. "I've...I've bugged him too much. I just know that he's sick of dealing with me..."

Poor kid. It was understandable as to why he had that mindset. The nightmares were becoming more and more common as the cycles went on. It was almost to the point where they were nightly. Also, Yondu wasn't exactly the warmest person in the galaxy. Sure, he was getting better at helping Peter, but a child could get the wrong impression if you seem pissed or confused when you're trying to make them feel better. He wasn't angry at the boy; that much Kraglin knew. Yondu was just extremely out of his element.

"Aw, Peter. 's not your fault for havin' these bad dreams an' Cap'n knows it." Kraglin considered bringing this up to Yondu. The kid probably wouldn't change his thinking unless he was reassured by the captain himself. It was probably best to wait on that, though. "But if I can't change your mind 'bout that and you want someone's company, I could stick around." It was common knowledge at this point that Peter hated being alone.

"...Really?"

"Sure, Pete. Anytime."

Thankfully, it seemed as though Peter wanted to sleep as badly as Kraglin did because he suggested they head over to his room. The boy plopped onto the bed when they got there. The only reason why he moved after that was so he could curl up underneath the blankets. Peter then placed his Walkman on the pillow next to him. The boy made the volume loud enough that both occupants of the room could hear without wearing the headphones but quiet enough that the music wasn't distracting.

Kraglin found himself on the bed as well, though it had been reluctantly. He had to lay on his side for the both of them to share the small bed comfortably. Staying above the covers, the Ravager's plan was to remain with Peter until the boy fell asleep. It was what Yondu would normally do. This, however, was going to be far more difficult than he had originally thought. He was still tired as hell and keeping his eyes open was getting harder by the second. In the hopes it would keep him awake, Kraglin focused on the music. Admittedly, he'd grown rather fond of the songs so this wasn't exactly a difficult thing to do.

-

Peter was staring up at the ceiling. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed sharing his music with someone. The last time it had happened was when he was back on Earth, which felt like a distant memory at this point. He remembered snuggling up next to his mother in the hospital bed, hugging her arm. They'd sing along to the Walkman- laughing when Peter exaggerated the _'Ooga-chakas'_ in _Hooked On a Feeling_ and feeling melancholy during _O-o-h Child_. The only song Peter refused to sing along to was _Spirit in the Sky_. Even if it sounded upbeat, there was just... a certain word that he didn't want to think about when he was with his mom. It had been the third word at the start of the song that just... _bothered_ him. Yet Meredith would always calm her child, tell him everything was going to be alright because once she met with the spirit in the sky, Peter would meet with the spirit in the _stars._

"Don't worry, Peter," she cooed. "Your daddy'll come take care of you when I'm gone." He wondered what she'd think if she knew fate had other plans.

Sometimes, Peter would imagine her still alive and well with him aboard the Eclector. Meredith would plant her hands on her hips and tap her foot impatiently at the Ravagers. " _You best watch your mouth around my baby,_ " she'd scold. " _And you better start cleaning up after yourselves. A pigsty is no place to raise a child!_ " She'd wack any member of the crew upside the head with a newspaper if they did something wrong and they were the ones who'd apologize because there was no fury like a mother's fury. They respected her. They respected her as much as they did Yondu.

Peter let out a sorrowful sigh. A part of him hated thinking about such things. It made the return to reality...painful. Closing his eyes for a moment, he could hear that  _Moonage Daydream_ hadjust started playing. Huh, it felt as though so much more time than that had passed.

That wasn't the only thing Peter noticed. Turning his head towards the young Ravager next to him, he instantly realized Kraglin had fallen asleep. With a surprised blink, he wondered if he should wake him up. Deciding he wanted to keep the company for as long as possible, the boy lifted up the top cover from his side and carefully placed it over Kraglin. A small smile tugged on Peter's lips as he nuzzled into the pillow.

There were times in his life where he was absolutely miserable. He'd been bullied, he'd lost his mother who had also been his best friend, and he'd been taken away from the only home he'd ever known. On particularly stressful days, he wanted to scream how much he hated each and every Ravager on the ship. Sometimes he did. And when he was first brought there against his will, he _meant_  what he said. He really, _really_ meant it. But now, he felt those words weren't as sincere.

Peter didn't hate Yondu. Not like he did when they had first met, anyway. On the worst of days, _dislike_ was the extent of his feelings for the man. On the best, he almost saw him as a fatherly figure.

He didn't hate Kraglin, either. Never did. Peter had been drawn to the first mate since he was the most Terran looking out of the batch of Ravagers. That, however, wasn't the only reason as to why he stuck close by. Even though Peter didn't know how or if age differed from Terrans to Xandarians, Kraglin _looked_ as if he were only around seven or eight years older than him.

Despite being seen as more of an annoyance than anything else during the first month or so, the first mate would still make small talk with the kid; asking if he were hungry or what the rectangular thing he always carried around was. Peter silently appreciated having someone who'd talk with him without threatening his life at some point in the conversation. It got even better when the annoyance slowly but surely dissolved into genuine curiosity and concern.

It was weird. Peter could have never imagined that his kidnappers would become somewhat like a family to him. A part of him felt as though 'family' might be taking to too far; but at the same time, what else could he describe Yondu and Kraglin as? Family cheers for you when you succeed. Family scolds you when you know better but still misbehave.

Family comforts you at ungodly hours of the night when you have a bad dream.

Peter looked at Kraglin, who was still peacefully asleep.

Yeah, the boy didn't think considering him family took it too far. He also didn't think he'd have to worry about another nightmare for the rest of the night.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, so this actually went in a completely different direction than I had originally planned. I'm actually kinda okay with that, though.  
> On a different note, the age difference between Peter and Kraglin is something I've been thinking about since my first fic. Like how I wrote in the story, I've come to headcanon them to be around seven or eight years apart. Even though that'd make Kraglin a pretty young first mate, I doubt Ravagers really take age into consideration if someone's good at their job. But those are just my thoughts on the matter.  
> Anyway, I really appreciate you for reading, so thanks! :D


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